


we can be pure poetry

by crescentchae



Series: a one shot for every twice ship!! [10]
Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: BUT I PROMISE ITS WAY SOFTER THAN IT SOUNDS, Bookstore AU, F/F, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Its basically all fluff, Oops, Some internalised homophobia, this is me massively projected onto dahyun's character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:08:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26390953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crescentchae/pseuds/crescentchae
Summary: mina's summer working at her local bookstore is made much more interesting when a cute girl keeps coming in without buying any booksora mihyun bookstore au
Relationships: Kim Dahyun/Myoui Mina
Series: a one shot for every twice ship!! [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1675549
Comments: 13
Kudos: 82





	we can be pure poetry

**Author's Note:**

> tw for a tiny mention of homophobia and some internalised homophobia. it isn't too heavy or present i don't think, but be careful!!

Mina sighed, flicking mindlessly through the pages of one of the books she was meant to be reorganising. Time seemed to be moving ridiculously slowly considering it was only her third shift of this summer at the bookstore. Mina was already wondering if it was worth the extra cash for when she went to university in a couple of months. 

As she was shaking herself out of the negativity and returning her attention to placing the books on the correct shelves, her head perked up at the sound of the bell to the door chiming. Mina’s head turned in time to see a relatively small girl with long black hair, around Mina’s age, slipping through the door. Her head turned as she seemingly scanned the shop. Before she could process her actions, Mina had ducked behind one of the shelves so that she would be out of view of the stranger’s searching gaze. 

The raven-haired girl pushed her thick-rimmed glasses up her nose slightly, fiddling with the strap of her backpack using her free hand. Cautiously, the girl took slow steps into the bookstore, wandering almost aimlessly as she glanced up at the shelves surrounding her. 

The bookstore Mina worked at was not large in comparison to branded ones, but there was still a good amount of floor space and a large variety of choices. Not many people frequented the store, often preferring the convenience of the city’s main bookstores, opposed to this one that was located on the outskirts of the city. Mina herself only knew of this bookshop because she walked past it every morning when she took her dog out for a walk. 

She was attractive, Mina conceded, yet carried herself in a way that told Mina that she was unaware of how subtly beautiful she was. The mystery girl had no right to be planted at the forefront of Mina’s mind as she tried to alphabetise the section in front of her, but Mina was helpless but to keep letting her head poke around the corner of the shelf to sneak glances at her. 

She was doing nothing out of the ordinary, leaning against a shelf and reading the back of book after book, as any customer would do. Yet, something about this girl made Mina unable to focus. Perhaps Mina was trying to place her, she didn’t exactly  _ recognise  _ the girl, but she figured that they were probably around the same year in school. 

Mina spent the rest of the time that the mystery girl spent in the shop taking her opportunities to unsubtly stare at the girl as she took different books out of the fantasy section. Mina should probably have done her job by now and made her presence known to this customer, but a combination of curiosity and shyness held Mina back. 

The way the girl had entered so cautiously, looking around as if to ensure she was alone made Mina not want to reveal herself. Mina thanked her luck that she often worked alone during the summer, with not many people seeking out bookstores when the sun was so often blazing pleasantly in the sky. The middle-aged employees she worked with were often painfully friendly, something she was sure might have startled this poor girl. Mina tried not to question why she was so sure of her theory when she scarcely knew the girl in front of her. In fact, she didn’t know her at all. 

Mina had been edging to a different position, so she could see exactly what the girl was doing and what she was staring so intently at. She tried to work out which books the girl was reading, but found she was too far. Mina’s eye twitched every time the girl placed a book back on the shelf in completely the wrong order, but she was making a clear effort to put them back neatly and save someone else the trouble. 

Mina found it was slightly endearing. 

The girl didn’t buy anything, merely spent her time flicking through the pages of books and reading the blurbs before placing them back on the shelf. 

When she left, Mina felt a surge of disappointment at the sound of the bell’s chime. 

  
  
  
By the time the mystery girl returned, Mina had abandoned hope that she would return. 

It was a long shot from the start that she would return so soon, Mina figured. Not many people frequented bookstores daily and yet, after the third day, Mina truly let her disappointment settle that she wouldn’t see the girl again. 

So, when the bell chimed to alert her that a customer had come, her head had stopped whipping around hopefully. Mina blinked herself awake, plastering on her best customer-service smile as she walked quickly to greet the customer who had walked through the door. 

She felt her heart jump in recognition as Mina stepped into view of the mystery girl. Their eyes met for the first time and Mina noted how pretty her eye shape was. The girl flashed her a reserved, shy smile that was painfully sweet. 

Mina must have stared for a moment too long, rooted to the spot in a pathetically clich é way, as the girl shifted awkwardly on the spot and cleared her throat, stepping forward as if to walk past Mina. 

Mina shook herself out of her daze. “Sorry. C-Can I help you?” 

The girl stopped moving, pausing near Mina. Her gaze moved up and down Mina’s form, a flush spreading across her cheeks when she met Mina’s eyes. “N-No, it’s okay, thank you.” 

Mina took a moment to appreciate the blush adorning her features, admiring how cutely it suited her face. Mina gave her a small smile, trying to convey that she didn’t mind the blatant staring. Mina herself was a victim to her wandering eyes sometimes, and she figured she owed this girl at least some ogling after how she had been watching her on her first appearance. 

The girl returned the smile, her eyes lighting up slightly with the motion. 

Mina nodded to herself before the moment could turn awkward. “Okay. Let me know.” 

The girl nodded too, throwing up an 'okay' sign. Her face fell, she cleared her throat and ducked her head, walking past Mina in a clear show of embarrassment. 

Mina brought a hand to cover her mouth as she tried to stifle a giggle, careful to not embarrass the girl further. 

She felt herself smile every time she remembered the interaction, especially the dorky hand signal, that was swiftly followed by such charming embarrassment. 

Later on, her sadness at watching the girl walk to the exit, empty-handed, quickly morphed into warmth through her chest as she spun around on her way out of the door to catch Mina’s eye and smile at her, giving Mina a shy wave. 

Somehow, Mina felt like she was treading into something unknown. 

  
  


The next time Mina met the girl’s eye was the following day. Mina’s shift was later today, and by the time she arrived at the store, her mystery girl was already in the store, her head nestled in the pages of a book. She seemed lost in her own world, silently mumbling the words that she read to herself occasionally. Mina felt something tug in her chest at the sight of it, dismissing the moment almost immediately when the girl looked up from her book. 

Mina averted her gaze when she was caught staring, blushing furiously and trying to casually fan herself to make it look like she was affected by the humidity and not her own stupidity at being exposed for her staring. 

Mina counted to fifteen in her head, shuffling some papers surrounding the checkout in front of her to make herself seem busy, before she regained the courage to look back up at the mystery girl. Mina peeked up through her eyelashes, noticing that the girl had moved along the shelf closer to where the checkouts were. 

Seeing that the girl had stopped looking at her, Mina looked up more fully. The movement must have caught the girl’s eye, as she turned her head from where she was running her finger over the spines of the books and made eye contact with Mina. Straight away, a smile graced her face, bigger than Mina had seen on her before. Mina didn’t have to think twice before returning the smile brightly.

“Good afternoon.” Mina was surprised that the girl broke the silence, but Mina basked in the sound of her voice. Somehow, her voice perfectly suited her. 

“Good afternoon.” Mina replied softly. 

Their eye contact lingered for a second too long, the moment turning slightly awkward, but Mina found that even as they both shyly redirected their gaze, she wouldn’t change the moment for anything in the world. 

  
  
  


The mystery girl had a name, and Mina uncovered it the next time that she saw the girl. 

Mina had thrown her head around from where she was bidding farewell to a customer at the sound of a loud crash. The girl stood sheepishly staring at the debris of books surrounding her, a large gap in the top shelf where the books once were. 

Mina whined quietly under her breath, hating to stand on the stool to deal with books on the top shelf. She didn’t understand why it had to be so  _ tall _ , but normally customers bypassed books on the top completely. 

Apparently, the mystery girl did not get that memo. 

Mina quickly walked over, the girl now awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck below her ponytail and staring up at the top shelves, perhaps wondering how she would get it back up there. 

When she caught sight of Mina, she blushed. “O-Oh gosh. I’m so sorry. I was just trying to jump to get one of the books but I accidentally knocked them as I tried to reach for one of them. Just show me how to get up there and I’ll put them all back, I swear–” 

Mina found the rambling far too sweet. 

So sweet, in fact, that Mina almost wanted to let the girl continue her relentless onslaught of apologies and assurances, however, she was beginning to fear for her lungs. 

“Hey, hey.” The girl quietened immediately. “It was an accident. Don’t worry about it, mys–“ 

Mina cut herself off hurriedly, embarrassed she was about to call this girl ‘mystery girl’ to her face. 

Thankfully, the girl misunderstood. “Miss? That makes me feel too old.” She pulled a cute disgusted face, her nose scrunched up. She extended her palm slowly. “I’m Dahyun.” 

Dahyun, Dahyun, Dahyun. 

No more mystery girl. 

Mina thought she was probably smiling too brightly as she met Dahyun’s palm with her own, noting that her palm was slightly clammy. But when Dahyun noticed her grin, a joyful smile lit up her own face. “I’m Mina.” 

If anyone had looked through the window, they would have seen two girls smiling helplessly at each other, but Mina doesn’t think she would’ve been able to tear herself away from the moment even if the world was ending. 

It might not have been one of Dahyun’s finest moments, but Mina found she couldn’t care less, because now she knew her a little bit better. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


Mina quickly found that seeing Dahyun was the highlight of her day. She never knew for certain if the other girl would be coming in, but she found herself pouting whenever their bell chimed and it wasn’t Dahyun’s eye smile that greeted her. Dahyun had become a regular part of her routine even after only a few weeks, and she hoped that the girl felt the same affection in her chest at the sight of Mina. 

As Mina walked tiredly up to the bookshop, ready to begin preparing to open the shop for the dreaded eight-am start this week, she was shocked to see Dahyun sitting on the steps to the shop next door to the bookstore. 

The weather was colder than it had been recently, and Mina could see as Dahyun pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders and then jammed her hands in her pockets. Mina stood around the corner, watching her for a moment. Dahyun was sniffing against the chill of the breeze, and Mina noticed she was chewing something, her cheeks looking fluffy. 

She looked painfully cute. 

But something about her felt… wrong. It felt like she resembled the withdrawn and cautious Dahyun that first came into the bookstore. Her eyes were melancholy, her down-turned lips so unlike the bright, illuminating grin that Dahyun had started shooting her every time she walked into the shop before she began asking Mina questions about anything and everything. 

Mina couldn’t bear the sight of it. 

“Hey, you.” Mina broke Dahyun from her reverie, the girl visibly startling, even though she should have seen her approach. 

“Hi.” Dahyun’s voice was flat, and a frown formed on Mina’s face after hearing it. 

“Are you okay?” Mina prompted gently. 

“Yeah, m’fine.” Dahyun mumbled lifelessly, standing up and tilting her head to the floor as she waited for Mina to unlock the shop. 

Mina’s hands shook slightly as she fumbled the keys into the lock, both from the slight chill in the air and the nerves that came from Dahyun being so painfully sombre. 

As she opened the door, she held it open for Dahyun to pass through. Dahyun slipped in without a word of thanks, seemingly lost in her own thoughts, and Mina’s worries were multiplying by the second. 

Mina assured herself that it was a good sign that Dahyun had turned up today, regardless of how distraught she seemed. It gave Mina hope that maybe Dahyun found some semblance of solace in the quaint bookshop. 

(Perhaps Mina selfishly hoped that she had something to do with Dahyun’s choice, too). 

Mina resolved herself to try and do some work, to give her hands and mind something else to do, trying to formulate a way to make Dahyun look even a tiny bit brighter. 

It proved harder than expected, because despite all of Mina’s elegance and dexterity, the book she was trying to reposition on the shelf slipped from her grip and clattered noisily to the ground as it hit against other shelves on its way down. 

Mina flinched at the loud noise, peering over her shoulder to find Dahyun already looking at her. 

Mina cursed her distractedness. 

“Are you okay, unnie?” Dahyun asked, her eyes shining with concern, which was a welcome sight considering all that Mina had seen so far today was a devastating sadness within them. 

“Y-Yeah, thank you, Dahyun-ah.” Mina responded, smiling nervously at Dahyun. She almost didn’t expect Dahyun to return it, but she did, her eyes brightening ever so slightly as she nodded and gave Mina a lopsided, tired smile. 

The images of Dahyun haunted her for the rest of the day, long after Dahyun had left the bookstore and even longer after she herself had left the bookstore. 

  
  
  


After seeing Dahyun so down, the memory was painted at the back of Mina’s retinas no matter how she tried to shake it. This was worsened by the fact that Dahyun hadn’t been to the store in a few days, when before she had been coming every other day, or sometimes even daily. Mina was worried about her, frustration bubbling that she didn’t know her well enough to go check up on her, to text her and ask if she was okay. She didn’t even have Dahyun’s number. 

Mina resolved to do something for her. 

And Mina was nothing if not observant. 

She had noticed that Dahyun always lingered longingly at the 'LGBTQ+' section of the bookstore, glancing back at it, but never mustering the courage to approach it. Mina wasn’t entirely sure of the reason, she could guess, but Mina at least wanted to try to help her regardless. 

She spent the entirety of her shift sifting through the books in the section, searching for something that Dahyun might like based on what Mina had observed her looking at before, based on the things that Dahyun had said to her on the limited times Mina had found the confidence to start a fleeting conversation with her. Mina appreciated Dahyun’s dedication to starting most of their conversations, almost as if she sensed that Mina was even more shy than she was. 

Dahyun seemed to like everything, but Mina noticed how she always returned to the poetry sections and traced her fingers over the words on the paper, sitting for hours uninterrupted as she perused the different poetry books from all different eras. Mina figured a poetry book written from the section that she didn’t seem to have the confidence to approach would be a perfect gift. Mina hoped she wouldn’t be overstepping any boundaries, praying this would merely serve as a nudge for Dahyun to enjoy whatever literature that she wanted. 

Mina spent at least an hour reading meticulously through the poems of one of the books, the cover pretty and floral, but discrete. 

Mina sighed. 

The only way to know if Dahyun would enjoy this one was to give it to her and gauge her reaction. 

Mina sat down heavily at the checkout, placing her elbow on her knee and resting her head in the palm of her hand. She turned her head to stare at the clock, praying that Dahyun came before the end of her shift today so that she could be rid of her longing and jitters. 

  
  
  


Dahyun, thankfully, came the next morning. 

Mina had barely recovered from the earliness of the morning, as she notched her chin on one of the shelves and leant there, before the bell chimed and Dahyun’s small form was slipping into the store. She looked as if she had just rolled out of bed, her hair slightly mussed and a fluffy white jacket zipped up to her chin, with her glasses balanced on the bridge of her nose. Dahyun visibly perked up, a grin gracing her features, when Mina cautiously waved at her. 

The sight warmed Mina’s heart, and she hoped that her own happiness at seeing the smaller girl was painted as plainly on her face as Dahyun’s was. 

“Hi. I’m sorry I haven’t been here recently, but this new internship has been kicking my ass. And–” Dahyun paused, eyes flashing with something that resembled the Dahyun of the other day. She hesitated, as if debating her next words, before finally resuming her sentence. “–And my parents have been grating on me too.” 

Mina cocked her head curiously, realising that this was the first time Dahyun had ever mentioned her parents. She had spoken about her brother, but never her parents. She smiled sympathetically, but before she could speak, Dahyun interrupted her. “Not that that’s unusual. Parents, right?” 

The laugh that Dahyun let out was terribly awkward at worst and stilted at best. It sounded so choked that Mina jumped to agree, refusing to let the awkwardness settle into the moment. “Right. They can be a handful. It’s okay, but I missed seeing you.” 

Well, that wasn’t exactly what Mina had meant to let slip, but judging by the soft blush on Dahyun’s skin, she wasn’t opposed to hearing the words. “Ah, me too, Mina-unnie.” 

Mina figured she should get all of her potential embarrassment out in one swift interaction. Mina wrung her hands in front of her, ducking her head from Dahyun’s inquisitive gaze as she cleared her throat. “I have something for you.” 

“For me?” The excitement in Dahyun’s tone was so wholesome that Mina almost found the courage to look at her, but it soon fled as she remembered the book she had wrapped. She merely nodded her head and walked past Dahyun to go to the back room where she had hidden Dahyun’s poetry book for safekeeping. 

Mina glanced back over her shoulder to see Dahyun lingering by the door to the room, peering in curiously. Mina giggled, half-nervous and half-amused. “You can come in, you know?” 

Dahyun grinned and stepped into the room, glancing around her. “This might be the most rebellious thing I’ve ever done. I’m so uncool, right?” 

“Well, you are a huge dork.” Mina teased, her heart racing as she realised that she probably didn’t need to put herself in this situation. Dahyun seemed perfectly happy, and Mina was still unsure if she was about to break some unspoken boundary. 

“Reading is cool!” Dahyun protested, her lips pouted as she mumbled the words again to herself more quietly, as if confirming them to herself. 

Mina let out a breathy laugh that was laced with her nerves, loud enough that it drew Dahyun’s attention fully back to her. 

Mina slipped the parcel from where it was tucked behind some boxes, turning to present the baby blue package to Dahyun, extending her arms with it clutched in both hands. Dahyun reached out to take the parcel, bouncing slightly on her feet, and Mina felt herself panic at the thought of the excitement leaving Dahyun because of her own presumptions. 

Dahyun tore the neatly-wrapped paper quickly, so quickly that Mina wanted to ask her to slow down, if only to preserve her own sanity for a few more precious moments. Dahyun turned the book over in her hands, smiling softly at the pretty patterns on the front of the book. She flipped the book, reading the back. Perhaps if she had only done that, Mina would have gotten away with the entire thing until later, but then Dahyun flipped to read the first page. 

Mina knew the content of the poetry book would be obvious from the first page. She felt her heart sink to the bottom of her stomach as the smile on Dahyun’s face morphed into something harder, something more melancholy. 

It was almost longingly that she traced her fingers over the words on the page, before she looked up sadly to meet Mina’s eyes. 

“I-I can’t take this.” Dahyun mumbled, pushing the book gently back into Mina’s grip and taking a step back. “It’s so sweet, but I can’t take it.” 

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to overstep. I don’t know why I thought this was a good idea. I just–” Mina looked down as she scuffed her foot against the ground in a way that her mother certainly would have scolded her for. “I just wanted to cheer you up from the other day and I’ve seen you looking at that section.” 

“Oh.” There was a pregnant pause, and Mina contemplated the likelihood of the ground swallowing her whole. “Mina-unnie.” 

Mina sighed, looking up and meeting Dahyun’s lovely, kind eyes. “Really, that is so,  _ so  _ sweet. I’m so happy, and I’d love to take it, but I just... can’t.” 

Mina paused, gathering all of her energy to encourage Dahyun a little, to actually probe and not be passive and frightened for once in her life. “Why not?” 

The silence in the room was so thick that Mina could have choked on it. Instead, she almost choked on her words as she opened her mouth to stumble through another apology, to tell Dahyun that she had no right to pry or ask her such a question. 

“M-My parents.” Dahyun’s voice made Mina hold her breath, closing her mouth as she waited for Dahyun to continue. “They would never accept this. They can never see this, and they can never know about everything. You know, about–” The  _ about me liking girls _ sat heavy and unspoken in the way Dahyun cut herself off. 

Mina felt her heart clench in pain for Dahyun, wishing she could banish the unshed tears from her eyes using nothing but sheer willpower and her care for the younger girl. 

Dahyun sighed, sounding unspeakably torn. “I wish I could take it. I want to read this, I really do. But I can’t have it in my house, unnie.” 

The vulnerability in Dahyun’s voice activated something in Mina, something protective and fierce, something determined. “Then I’ll take it.” 

Dahyun frowned, running a hand through her hair to smooth it. “Huh?” 

“I’ll take it home with me. My parents have always accepted me, so I’ll keep it, but we can go somewhere and read it when I’m not working.” Mina hoped she wasn’t being presumptuous (again) and, instead, let herself be fueled by her desire to let Dahyun have something that she clearly wants, something that so badly deserves. “I-If you want that, of course.” 

Dahyun looked hesitant, her brow still furrowed as she mulled it over in her head. 

“You don’t have to give an answer now, you can think about it. If you don’t want to–” Mina shrugged to show that Dahyun had a free choice. “–Then I can keep it and read it alone.” 

Dahyun nodded thankfully, smiling shyly at Mina. 

  
  
  


The next day, as Mina was closing up the shop, signalling the end of a dreary day without Dahyun’s company, she heard the sound of heavy breathing and loud footsteps. 

Mina turned to see Dahyun hunched over, breathing heavily, evidently from how aggressively she had run to Mina. 

“Oh dear, are you okay? Do you need anything?” Mina asked concernedly, resting her hand on Dahyun’s shoulder. 

“Yes!” Dahyun wheezed out abruptly. Mina was confused, and it must have been written on her face when Dahyun straightened her back and looked at her. “I-I mean, yes, I want to read the book with you.” 

Mina couldn’t help but laugh softly. “You didn’t have to run here! You know that I work tomorrow, it could have waited until then.” 

“No, it couldn’t.” Mina’s grin faltered slightly at the seriousness in Dahyun’s tone. 

Mina quickly snapped herself out of her surprise, checking once more that she had locked the door, spinning on her heel and walking off. “Okay. Let’s go then.” 

“What?” Dahyun spluttered, tripping over herself slightly in her haste to keep up. “Where? Now?” 

Mina hummed. “We can go to a park near here, if you like. I have the book in my bag.” 

“Oh.” Dahyun was quiet other than this one word, which made Mina lose her bravado slightly, her steps faltering as she reached to grip Dahyun’s wrist delicately. She stopped their movements and faced Dahyun. 

“Is that what you want?” Mina asked softly, imploring Dahyun with her eyes. 

Dahyun hesitated for only a moment, taking a deep breath before nodding and sighing out a quiet. “Yes, please.” 

Mina smiled, leading Dahyun along by the hand on her wrist, not letting it go for the entirety of the walk. 

That day marked the beginning of Mina and Dahyun’s frequent park outings, where they read whatever Mina thought Dahyun would want to read, but was too shy to ask for. 

It also marked the beginning of something even more soft and safe. 

  
  
  


Dahyun thinks she could have fallen asleep with the warmth of the sun on her face and Mina’s soft voice in her ears. 

Their bench had become somewhat of a safe haven for Dahyun. Mina was the one who knew her better than anyone. Perhaps that wasn’t the truth, but it felt like she knew her more intimately than anyone else. She had shared the piece of herself that she had sworn to try to bury, only giving in when Mina had given her the excuse to. The part of her that she had believed would continue to haunt her and rear its ugly head. 

Dahyun had always struggled with speaking about her feelings, dismissing them for the sake of others. But, Dahyun had realised that it was a method of protecting herself, too. If she didn’t speak about her feelings, then the repercussions of them couldn’t touch anyone except herself, and even she didn’t have to acknowledge them properly. 

Yet, with Mina, it didn’t feel so scary to acknowledge the things she had been fleeing from her entire life. Even if her worries still lurked there behind her, she felt like she could pause to catch her breath after running for the past few years. And, better than that, Mina was next to her, a hand on her back as Dahyun hunched over and heaved for breath, waiting patiently for her even if the desire to run flared up again. . 

Now, Mina always ensured that she ran alongside Dahyun. 

Dahyun realised how special it was to have someone to be completely honest with. 

Especially someone like Mina. Someone that accepted that Dahyun was not the best at expressing her own turmoil yet. Someone whose eyes shone with pride every time Dahyun spoke about it unprompted. Someone who never pushed Dahyun, but knew when to nudge her for encouragement. 

Dahyun found it became easier every time they met. 

“Dahyunie, if you fall asleep then you’ll miss what happens next.” Mina’s hand slipped into her own, causing Dahyun’s head to jerk up in surprise from its place on Mina’s shoulder. “You can’t be that bored.” 

Dahyun giggled, sitting up straight and turning her body to face Mina’s. “I’m not bored of you! I’m just sleepy.” 

Mina playfully rolled her eyes. “Well, if you’re sleepy then I should save my breath for something more important than being ignored whilst reading.” 

Mina closed the book, one of  _ their  _ books, and placed it on the bench they were sitting on. 

Dahyun pouted. “I wasn’t ignoring you.” 

Mina looked at her incredulously, and far too knowingly. 

Dahyun coughed awkwardly at the eye contact, feeling flustered in a way she had come to associate with pretty girls. 

But especially Mina.  _ Especially _ Mina when she looked at Dahyun so confidently. 

She continued. “What could be more important?” 

Dahyun felt her breath catch in her throat as Mina’s knee brushed against her own, the damned thing threatening to clog it when Mina shyly dipped her gaze to her lips for the briefest of moments. Dahyun had imagined this moment for far too long, her anticipation mixing in with trepidation to make her hands feel clammy. Their bench had never felt so enclosed as Mina scooted closer, tucking one knee under her body in a way that should not have been so graceful. 

“Can I kiss you?” Mina’s faint voice broke the hush that had enveloped them. 

Mina’s gaze was too intense, but Dahyun couldn’t bring herself to drag her eyes away. She could feel her face heat up at the question, Dahyun would almost have preferred if Mina had kissed her without asking. 

But Mina would never do that, far too attuned to Dahyun’s needs in a way that made Dahyun feel more seen than ever before. 

Mina looked just as nervous as Dahyun felt, her eyes wide, but soft. 

Perhaps that was what gave Dahyun the confidence to lean closer and hesitantly press her lips against Mina’s. 

Kissing a girl, kissing  _ Mina _ , was everything that the novels she had spent the past couple of weeks reading had described. 

Everything about Mina was so soft, soft enough that it was paradoxically painful. From her lips, to the way that she placed an unassuming hand on Dahyun’s thigh, to how gently Mina was caressing her cheek. Even the way Mina’s perfume assaulted her senses was comforting, suffocating in the most pleasant way. 

Mina didn’t seem to mind that her movements screamed inexperience, content to just press her lips to Dahyun’s and guide the slow, tender kiss. 

But what the novels could never have hoped to fully capture was the warmth that flared through her chest from kissing Mina. How she could feel so powerless to pull away when she felt such liberation thrumming through her veins. The way that her lungs were burning and how she knew it would be more painful still to be separated from each other. 

Dahyun wasn’t sure that she had ever felt so alive. 

The thought abandoned her the moment Mina started rubbing circles onto her clothed thigh, the feeling making her head spin so pleasantly that Dahyun had to retract her head from the kiss to recapture her sanity. 

It was a useless feat when Dahyun opened her eyes to see Mina’s still closed, her chest heaving slightly in her breathlessness, biting her bottom lip as her eyes fluttered open to meet Dahyun’s gaze. 

The pink dusting Mina’s cheek was reassuring, considering it meant that Dahyun couldn’t be the only one who was pathetically affected by their kiss. 

Dahyun waited for the fear to seize her, the reality of what she had just done to come crashing down on her to tear the moment apart and send her scrambling. 

But the moment never came. 

Dahyun didn’t think the feelings swirling messily around in her chest could leave her when Mina ducked her head and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear, not when Mina let out an adorably embarrassed giggle. Maybe soon, she would be terrified, but right now, all she felt was bliss. 

Dahyun was so entranced that she thought she could forget her own shyness. 

Mina’s head stayed lowered as she nudged Dahyun out of her own thoughts with light, nervous tapping against her thigh. “W-Was that not okay?” 

At that moment Dahyun realised that all she had done was stare blankly at Mina since she had pulled away, a fact she scrambled to remedy. 

She didn’t know quite how to articulate how happy she was feeling, how comfy and safe she felt to have shared her first meaningful kiss with  _ Mina _ , how  _ badly  _ she wanted to do it again. Instead, she leapt to her feet, not giving Mina the time to process why she had pulled away so abruptly, and gently tugged Mina to stand up by her hand. As soon as Mina was on her feet, Dahyun stepped forward and hugged her around her waist, pressing her face into the warmth of her neck. 

Somehow the hug felt equally as momentous as their kiss had, equally as tender and gentle. 

Mina immediately reciprocated, wrapping her arms tightly around Dahyun’s shoulders and resting her forehead against the top of her head. 

Dahyun spoke first, her words quiet against Mina’s neck. If the birds had been harmonising, Dahyun thought Mina would have missed her words, but she never missed anything that Dahyun did. 

“Thank you, Mina.” 

She wasn’t sure if Mina would understand the gravity of the three simple words, if she would grasp exactly what Dahyun was thanking her for. Dahyun herself wasn’t certain, but knew that in the moment that all she felt was gratitude to Mina for being with her in this moment. Dahyun knew that life couldn’t always be this simple, but she could not express how indebted she was to Mina for giving her moments where things felt entirely unbreakable and serene. 

“Of course, Dahyunie.” 

Mina’s words whispered against her hair felt like a promise. 

A promise of a future where they would be whispering a different set of three words to each other. 

But, for now, Dahyun stood swaying in Mina’s arms, feeling more content than she believed that she could hope to feel in the arms of a girl. 

For now, in her own novel, Dahyun felt untouchable. 

**Author's Note:**

> mihyun completed!! i KNEW i had to do a bookstore au for them, idk, it fits the environment they create together. i was definitely projecting onto dahyun here so yknow!! 
> 
> i hope you enjoyed :D i don't have any other works finished, but i have a lot planned so hopefully the next one will be kinda soon!! 
> 
> thank you for reading, comments always appreciated. thank you for anyone who has ever left any!! i have some i never got the notif for and feel too embarrassed to reply to after so long, but i appreciate them aaaall! 
> 
> twitter: @coconutwice :))


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